BOSTON – The Baker-Polito Administration today announced $8 million in grant funding to nine healthcare provider organizations, including more than 25 community health centers, which are participating in MassHealth payment reform efforts.

This Infrastructure and Capacity Building (ICB) funding is authorized through the MassHealth federal waiver and supports efforts to help transition heath care providers into MassHealth Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) payment models. ACOs, groups of doctors and other health care providers, will work together to care for their patients in a more coordinated and integrated effort to improve members’ health and contain costs. The move is part of the most comprehensive restructuring of the Medicaid program in more than 20 years.

“Our Administration is working hard to contain costs while creating a sustainable MassHealth system and reforming outdated payment models is an essential component of that effort,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “This funding is another step toward creating payment and care models that focus on health outcomes as the driver for payment and improving care.”

The grants provide support for health care organizations in two categories:

“These nine organizations are taking significant steps in implementing a new health care model for MassHealth members that should result in better care and coordinate both behavioral and physical health care needs,” said Marylou Sudders, the Secretary of Health and Human Services. “Their participation will help us provide integrated, outcome-based care to MassHealth’s 1.9 million members.”

The nine provider organizations that received ICB support are:

Support for Pilot ACOs’ Implementation Efforts

Boston Accountable Care Organization

$1,691,739.13

Community Care Cooperative (C3)

$1,586,018.90

Children's Hospital Integrated Care Organization

$546,012.86

Partners Healthcare Accountable Care Organization

$934,846.08

Steward Medicaid Care Network

$1,315,964.70

UMass Memorial Health Care

$607,471.10

Support for Primary Care Payment Reform Participants’ Continued Integration of Care

Cambridge Health Alliance

$455,721.84

Greater Lawrence Family Health Center

$576,828.18

Lowell Community Health Center

$285,397.21

Total

$8,000,000

“These grants lay the groundwork to restructure MassHealth’s current delivery system toward Accountable Care models that enhance and further promote integrated, coordinated care,” said Dan Tsai, Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services who leads the MassHealth program. “We are appreciative of the commitment made by these health systems, hospitals, and community health centers and for our continued partnership as we take these important steps together.”

Examples of projects the ICB grants are funding include:

Children’s Hospital Integrated Care Organization will, among other initiatives, invest in improved translation services to better communicate with members for whom English is not a primary language.

Lowell Community Health Center will increase the time clinicians spend with patients who have chronic medical conditions in an effort to reduce the need for hospitalization.

Multiple awardees are expanding their population health analytics and reporting capabilities, improving their ability to identify members who could benefit from more frequent or involved outreach.

“Community Care Cooperative (C3) is incredibly excited to receive an ICB grant award,” said Christina Severin, president and chief executive officer of C3, one of the MassHealth Pilot ACOs which includes 12 health centers. “This funding is particularly important in helping us build the infrastructure to improve care for our 36,000 members, including those with complex behavioral health and physical health needs. As a start-up organization, it would not be possible for us to create our system of care without this award and we are extremely grateful to be able to partner with MassHealth on this innovative Pilot ACO Program.”